Smoothie recipes without so much fruit? page

[ommmmaggie]

I bought a Vitamix recently and have been LOVING the ease of green smoothies, especially with the summer heat. But I have been going fruit-heavy and eating two smoothies a day, and just within the last week I may or may not be gaining weight, but I'm definitely puffier and flabbier. No bueno! So what are your favorite smoothie recipes that are still primal-friendly?

One of my typical smoothies:

1 cup coconut milk
1/4-1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp cod liver oil (Carlson's lemon-flavored - you can't even taste it)
1 banana
1/2 cup berries (or 2 apricots or 1/2 cup mango chunks)
2 cups spinach, kale, or other greens
1/2 cup nuts or 1/4 cup nut butter (almonds, walnuts, or pecans)
sometimes 1/2 avocado
sometimes Jay-Robb whey protein, although my body doesn't love it

[Blackcatbone]

Your smoothie has a lot of stuff in it you could reduce, not just the fruit, like the nuts. And it's pretty big. If you're having two a day that's a lot. Especially with the amount of nuts and coconut milk you're using. And many women find that calories can in fact be an issue, even eating paleo/primal. I looked at the calories/carbs in one and breaks down to 1208/62 and with avocado 1369/70. If you have two a day that's 2416/124 and w/avo 2738/140. I just figured in strawberries, black or blueberries would be a little higher in both. This is for frozen and unsweetened. The coconut milk is 552 cal unless it's thinned. I used almond butter at 395 cal, but walnuts would be about the same having between 13 and 16 carbs. The banana is 105 cal and 27 carb. The avocado is 161/8. The rest is pretty irrelevant as far as calories and carbs. It's pretty easy to carried away because you can fit a lot into a smoothie, but if you keep them simpler it's probably better. And limit them to one a day.

I usually make mine with 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup raw goat milk, 1/4 cup raw kefir, 1-2 tbsp tahini, 1 scoop whey factors plain whey and sweetened slightly with stevia. Whey mixes often come with things you don't want. You could use cucumbers, carrots, mashed sweet potato or whatever occurs to you, really. You say the whey doesn't agree with you, but have you tried it without everything else? There are a number of things that could be disagreeing with you, including the coconut milk, banana, nuts or avocado.

[ommmmaggie]

Yikes! Yep, 2 a day is probably the issue. I've been adding the nuts/nut butters to get some protein, because I just have difficulty digesting dairy so the whey protein is something I can do once in a while, but not often. I'll bring it down to 1 a day to start, and see if that helps. I'll also see if I can find subs for the banana, like apple or carrot or sweet potato.

[Blackcatbone]

Can you do eggs? Some people put raw egg in theirs. Dairy can be iffy for me but raw doesn't seem to bother me which might be an option if it's just the lactose. If it's casein then it probably won't work. The whey that I use has a miniscule amount of lactose and I'm pretty sure no casein. I also just looked at the ingredients for Jay-Robb and all of his, even the unflavored, has soy in it. I've never tried it as it's made in a facility that processes wheat so a chance of cross contamination.

[Wrenwood]

You might try a peeled cucumber as a replacement for the banana. My favorite green smoothie is a cucumber, some fresh basil, a handful of snow peas, coconut milk (unsweetened So Delicious brand), about 5 drops of stevia, and a little fresh ginger. I have put half an avocado in too when I needed the fat or calories, and sometimes spinach if I feel like it. With the snow peas I have to blend longer to get a creamy consistency, although the Vitamix may do a better job than my Ninja.

[Iron Will]

Smoothies are great but the foods that you put in them react differently with your insulin levels than the same foods that you would consume in their natural state. Because the particles are so small they are very quickly absorbed. Add to that most people like a sweet smoothie and you have created an insulin carpet bomb. If you want to have a smoothie the best time (abd really the only time) to have one would be directly after a hard work out. Hows that for motivation?

Also, I dont know what's in "vegimix" but definitely check the ingredient list. A lot of those green drink type mixes are really high in soy which will raise your estrogen levels and create hormonal imbalances and more weight gain plus inflamation.

[GuineaPigQueen]

This morning I made a smoothie with:

1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut manna
1 small banana
1 celery stalk
4 handfuls of kale
1/2 cup strawberries
12 ice cubes

So good. Originally this idea came from a local smoothie joint. It was unfortunately filled with dates and less kale. Sometimes I'll plop in a half to a whole avocado. Sometimes I do blueberries instead of strawberries.

[JoanieL]

I pretty much use smoothies to get my greens when my inner child is being fussy and won't eat her veggies. I kept decreasing the fruit until one day I simply put a bunch of greens, almond milk, stevia, filtered water, and ice in. Very palatable, good even, though I doubt anyone would swoon at its yumminess. Great on summer days because its light and cold. Not a meal replacer, more like a side dish replacer. I get my greens and the inner child doesn't whine.

[L8F]

We make a lot of vitamix smoothies. I had the same issue with too much fruit etc, especially in the first week. Now we make one with breakfast, usually a variant of:

Kale (3-4 stalks)
carrots (1-2 for some sweetness)
Lime (1 for tart flavor)
ginger
+/- a few slices of frozen pineapple
ice

sometimes we have a cucumber, and I love that addition. We throw in what we have and hope for the best.

[vb66]

I've been meaning to try putting a hard boiled egg in my smoothie to give it a thicker texture like a banana or avacado might. That would add some protein and fat as well without as many calories as some as the other things you've added.